Brian Rudman: Short memories muddy waters

COMMENT

On the eve of opening the international tender process for the controversial sale of Westhaven Marina, Ports of Auckland has summoned the media to an on-site softening-up session this morning.

It's a joint briefing with Auckland City Council "regarding ongoing public access to Westhaven and Hobson West Marinas".

Now call me cynical, but back in August when the port company's outrageous sales plan was first signalled, it tried to dampen the outcry with claims that public access was already safe for all time.

"Public access," said the August press release, "is guaranteed no matter who the owner. The district plan includes a conservation covenant guaranteeing pedestrian access to the marina and its surrounds, and this covenant is registered on the title".

The assurance went even further, saying that because of access needs of the various leaseholders, including restaurants, retail stores and boating clubs, "it is just not practicable for the roads to be closed to the public. Furthermore, in previous sales processes, public access has been protected and enhanced".

On Friday, asked for comment, a port company spokesperson said what was going to be announced today was "even better".

Just how you can get better than "guaranteed no matter who the owner", I wait to find out.

But, to me, the only way to make this plan better is to abandon it and return the title of the land to the people who rightly own it, the people of Auckland. For free.

As I've pointed out before, when the port company's predecessor, the Auckland Harbour Board, was established in 1875, it was endowed by act of Parliament with more than 5000 acres (2023ha) of the harbour bed. This included the bits the port company is now trying - or planning - to hock off between Pt Erin and Westhaven.

It was a free grant of public land intended to guarantee the new publicly owned board financial security. Income was to be generated by a process of reclaiming land from the sea, then leasing it out.

Now the company is trying to hock this priceless piece of foreshore off, hoping its "public domain" history is forgotten. Can you imagine the outcry - and sudden acts of Parliament - if the port was Maori-owned and the brothers tried something similar?

Just what the role of the city council is in today's statement is a mystery. To several councillors at least. At last Thursday's first council meeting of the year, the waterfront was discussed in the confidential agenda. But councillors were given no indication that any deal over access between the city and Ports of Auckland was pending. Surprising, that, when obviously recreation committee chairman Scott Milne and other senior councillors already had the announcement diaried.

There's no doubt Mr Milne's heart is in the right place. On Friday, while refusing to discuss today's announcement, he said: "I'm absolutely determined we're not going to break up this harbour edge into little pieces and sell it off piece-meal.

"We do have a once-in-an-intergenerational chance to do something very strategic with vision and I would hope Monday is the start of that."

And: "There is a strong feeling within council that they have to act as guardian and that we are into preserving and enhancing assets."

What Aucklander - except those running the port company - could disagree with such sentiments? But what Mr Milne is talking about is not a matter of access, but of ownership. That's what he and the other politicians have to address. And not just the local politicians. It was the national politicians, when they abolished the harbour board and redistributed the ownership of its land, who created the present mess.

It was central Government that turned the harbour board into a make-believe private company and handed over Auckland's coastal birthright to it on a silver platter.

The talk at Auckland City is of using the remaining Auckland International Airport shares in its portfolio to fund a buy-up of the land the port company wants to quit. But why should Aucklanders have to buy back land which is already ours, a gift from the Government in 1875? And why should central Government let it happen?

The ridiculousness only gets worse when you know that publicly owned Infrastructure Auckland, which is about to be absorbed by publicly owned Auckland Regional Council, owns 80 per cent of the port company's shares.

Government ministers have expressed their disgust at what's going on. It's time to show they mean it.


Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine